Sergio Perez signed by Sauber for 2011, Telmex confirmed as sponsor

Sauber have announced today that Mexican racing driver Sergio Perez will drive for the team for the 2011 season. He will partner Kamui Kobayashi, meaning that Nick Heidfeld will not be retained for next season.

Sergio Perez has been signed by Sauber for 2011

The second seat at Sauber has been shuffled around recently. It was held by Pedro de la Rosa until before the Singapore Grand Prix, until poor performances and failing to keep up with Kamui Kobayashi meant he has been replaced for the rest of the season by Nick Heidfeld. However, today’s announcement means that Heidfeld will be looking for a drive elsewhere for 2011.

Perez is racing in GP2, and is in second place behind Pastor Maldonado, who has already won the championship. Previously, he won the National Class in British Formula 3 of 2007, and was 4th in British F3 the following year. However, it isn’t just his racing talent that has caught Peter Sauber’s eye.

Sauber also announced a new sponsor for the team, Telmex, which is run by Carlos Slim Helu (world’s richest man of 2010). However, Carlos Slim also runs Escuderia Telmex, which sponsors and supports upcoming drivers. As you can probably guess, Perez just so happens to be sponsored by Escuderia Telmex.

The last Mexican Formula 1 driver was Hector Rebaque, back in 1981, so it will be very interesting to see how Perez gets on. In my opinion, he looks like a good talent, with a mixture of racing ability and of course the backing to get to the top.